Wire Fraud Awareness in the Real Estate Industry

By: Jonathan Holfinger, Esq. | Attorney/Partner, OLTP, NTP

Industry-wide, we’ve seen a large increase in wire fraud incidents. In a majority of cases, the cyber criminals have gained access to the real estate transaction by compromising email accounts through phishing.

NWT President, Jonathan Holfinger, shares how real estate professionals can to protect their clients by enabling multi-factor authentication, especially on email accounts.

Check out our how-to guide for enabling multi-factor authentication for popular email platforms here:


How to Enable Multi-Factor Authentication For Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud

Step 1.) Open Your Google Account by heading to www.google.com/account

Step 2.) In the navigation panel, select security.

Step 3.) Under “Signing in to Google” select 2-Step Verification > Get started.

Step 4.) Follow the on-screen steps.


How to Enable Multi-Factor Verification for Your Outlook Account


Step 1.) Go to the Security basics page at https://account.microsoft.com/security and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Step 2.) Select “Advanced security options”

Step 3.) Under “Two-step verification”, choose “Set up two-step verification” to turn it on.

Step 4.) Follow the on screen prompts


How to Enable Multi-Factor Verification for Your AppleID and iCloud Account Using Your iPhone


Step 1.) Go to Settings > [your name] > Password & Security.

Step 2.) Tap Turn On Two-Factor Authentication.

Step 3.) Tap Continue.

Step 4.) Enter the phone number where you want to receive verification codes when you sign in. You can choose to receive the codes by text message or automated phone call.

Step 5.) Tap Next.

Step 6.) Enter the verification code to verify your phone number and turn on two-factor authentication.

Want to Enable Multi-Factor Verification for Your AppleID and iCloud Account Over the Web? Here’s How:


Step 1.) Go to appleid.apple.com, then sign in with your Apple ID.

Step 2.) Answer your security questions, then tap Continue.

Step 3.) You’ll see a prompt to upgrade your account security. Tap Continue.

Step 4.) Click Upgrade Account Security.

Step 5.) Enter the phone number where you want to receive verification codes when you sign in. You can choose to receive the codes by text message or automated phone call.

Step 6.) Click Continue.

Step 7.) Enter the verification code to verify your phone number and turn on two-factor authentication.

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